Fiscal Cliff Talks Continue With No 'Compromise' About Taxes in Sight

So our government is headed toward the fiscal cliff, and most people don’t even know what that means. However, they do think that we should cut spending, avoid raising the debt ceiling, and reform our entitlement programs to sustainable levels. So they reelected a president that wants to raise taxes and use 75 percent of that revenue for new spending. Because that makes sense -- in Bizarro World, at least.

So what is the fiscal cliff? Basically, legislators couldn't come to a budget agreement earlier this year, so they do what they always do -- punt. They borrowed some money and put serious fiscal ramifications in place if they didn't agree on a final budget by the end of the year. Guess what? They can't agree. So off the fiscal cliff we go -- with serious cuts in defense and other areas across the board.

Now if President Obama and his liberal friends get their way, we’ll increase taxes on individuals making $200,000 a year and couples making $250,000 a year and then add a bunch of new spending rather than put the entirety of it toward our massive debt.

Of course, once that new spending is in place, it will be practically impossible to get rid of it, regardless of whether or not the money comes in to pay for it. Raising taxes never raises as much money as bureaucrats hope, because when you take away more and more of someone’s take-home pay, it reduces their incentive to work. Shocking, I know.

So basically, the Republican-led House and the Democrat-led Senate have to come up with some sort of financial plan to keep $600 billion in tax increases and spending cuts from going into effect on January 1, then President Obama has to approve the whole thing and sign it. This is why you've been hearing on the news that Republicans are messing everything up by refusing to compromise. Because apparently to Democrats and the media, “compromise” translates to “go against what you were elected to do and give in entirely.”

Why is it always the Republicans who are “refusing to compromise”? The Democrats are the ones who want to raise taxes in a crappy economy, and that never works. Ever. It’s like everyone has forgotten about the 1930s, when high taxes and too much government regulation led to the Great Depression.

Republicans don’t have a whole lot to lose at this point. They were elected to reduce taxing, spending, and the overall size of government, because that’s what our party stands for. Taxes are going up in 2013 regardless, so let the Democrats own it. If they don’t want to help come up with a solution to keep taxes low for everybody, then their own inability to compromise will raise taxes on everyone.

Don’t give up, GOP. We need to cut the spending, and it’s never going to happen if you keep agreeing to increase it.

What do you think is better for the economy: Cutting spending or raising taxes?